To promote the social and healthy welfare of children and prevent diseases caused by poor eating, parents in Gicumbi district are trained on how to prepare food to support breast milk for infants and young children.
The health center started a new program to teach parents how to prepare balanced diet meal of infants and what to feed them along side breast milk from 6 months said Hussen Zuberi the director of Kageyo health center on the 8th.Oct.2012.
When a child makes 6 months, he starts to feed on solid food alongside breast milk until he gets to 2 years and this develops him to become healthy and not affected by many diseases. The Ministry of Health prepared them guidelines to teach people how breast milk and sold food develop a child with all nutrients in the body and ensures good growth.
When a child starts to feed on solids, he is given different kinds of food to get used to different tastes. A parent has to mind the times she feeds the child, the quantity of the food she feeds the child, different tastes and the eagerness of the child to feed and most importantly, the hygiene.
Nadine Mukandori one of the parent who is being trained says that a parent must use a separate plate for the infant and prepare the food with much cleanliness to avoid unhygienic related diseases.
A parent should never forget to prepare meals with body building food including foods like beans, peas, soya and others.
There are food for strengthening the body like rice, wheat, sorghum, millet and others which are also important to a growing child. Roots like Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, yams and others are also good and nutritious. And also animal products like milk, eggs, fish, meat and many others.
Parents in the training are also reminded that they should always remember that vegetables and different kinds of fruits prevent diseases.
Apart from different kinds of food, a parent should follow closely on the feeding pattern of the child below 5 years by noting the weight and height change every month and this is done by health advisors at every village as required by the government of Rwanda.
A child who gains more weight is growing well, a child with constant weight is has a problem and should seek medical help from professional doctors.
Zuberi says that parents should always remember that owning a vegetables garden in every home and livestock is an important adventure and every parent should participate to help health growth for their children.
